chuck_nbcfandomcom-20200214-history
Talk:Chuck Versus the Goodbye/@comment-26358824-20150430205936/@comment-97.65.38.194-20150507210220
Despite my dislike and original intent of not watching the Chuck vs. the Goodbye again, I did. Mainly searching for clues for what the outcome might mean. I think I have determined the outcome based on the following clues. Warning - spoiler alerts. I think things will be OK, even if Sarah never regains her original memories. Here is the evidence: 1) John Casey. Sarah remembers him as a brutal, cold, efficient killer. The man who brings her a parting gift tells her they are friends, and it is Bartoski's doing. The gift his Sarah's actual video log of her assignment of guarding Chuck. Sarah is able to witness her growing feelings for Chuck, starting with noting Chuck is an easy Mark, to he is cute, to displaying disappointment when Chuck ends their cover relationship, to a anguished declaration of her love for Chuck and not knowing what to do. Sarah is clearly upset by what she witnesses. 2) Morgan. Grimes tells her how important his role as Chuck's best friend is to him but lets her know he approved of her taking his place as Chuck's best friend and was always rooting for the two of them. 3) Chuck in the Dream House. Chuck's emotional appeal to Sarah convinces her Chuck's love for her is real. Sarah quickly raises her defenses in fear to push Chuck away by telling him she "did her job too well." Chuck responds by telling her she is not as good a liar as she thinks she is, implying she is fooling nobody but herself. Sarah becomes angry when Chuck won't fight her. This is beyond her limited understanding as a superspy. Chuck refuses to hurt Sarah and barely defends himself against her violent attack. Chuck is so adamant he won't hurt Sarah he is willing to let her kill him. Fortunately for Chuck, Sarah sees the carving of their names on the doorframe and remembers, or recognizes her "writing," carving their names into the frame. Chuck takes a bullet meant for Sarah to save her life and tells her to run, confusing Sarah. He has saved her life and the permission to run means he is willing to let Sarah go, never to see her again, if that is what it takes for her to be safe. 4) The Weinerlicious. Sarah remembers the correct way to set things up in the hot dog restaurant and anxiously rearranges things. She doesn't know why, but she feels compelled to do so. 5) The Russian Consulate. Sarah feels obvious sexual attention while dancing with Chuck. She is surprised at how well Chuck dances and he tells Sarah she taught him. 6) The Final Intersect. Sarah is interested in the idea of using the intersect to regain her memories. The fact that Chuck must use the intersect to defuse the bomb to save people hurts Sarah, but a slight nodding of her head indicates she understands. This is Chuck's character, he will do the right thing even if it costs him personally. This is part of why Sarah feel in love with Chuck the first time. Sarah remembers to use the porn virus to defuse the bomb. She doesn't know why she came up with the idea, but it just pops into her head. 7) Sarah demonstrates very small memories she cannot explain, or understand, that are part of her experiences with Chuck, the cups at the Weinerlicious, the porn virus, dancing with Chuck. 8) Telling Chuck goodby the first time. Sarah goes to the courtyard to tell Chuck she believes him but she doesn't feel in love with him. She says goodbye and Chuck lets her go. Even though Sarah is hurt and confused, she has sought Chuck out. 9) Sarah's walls are crumbling. When Chuck vs Sarah starts, we see Sarah in her pre-Chuck persona. She is as cold, ruthless and unfeeling as Casey was when they first met. She displays none of her flirty, happy persona she used to charm Chuck. As Sarah learns more and more about the last five years, she experiences more and more turmoil internally. Sarah learns without a doubt she fell in love with Chuck when watching the DVD Casey gave her. The audiences sees her eyes watering and Sarah covering her face with her hands before moving them to her throat. After killing Quinn and working to disarm the bomb, Sarah displays more emotional turmoil, even expressing a desire to use the intersect to restore her memories. Sarah announces she is breaking up Team Bartoski but then witnesses an emotional, for Casey, display as Casey says his goodbye to Chuck. Interestingly enough, following a highly demonstrative and emotional hug with Chuck, Casey's goodbye for Sarah is a simple verbal one issued as he climbes the stairs of Castle to leave. 10) Chuck goes to Sarah on the beach. Sarah is not surprised when Chuck comes. She even tells him this spot is important, even though she does not know why. Chuck tells Sarah it was where she convinced him things would be OK. To me the location of where Chuck finds Sarah, her emotional state, and the role reversal, are the most important hints everything will eventually be OK, even if Sarah never regains her memories. Chuck and Sarah have reversed roles and physical positions. Chuck is now in the drivers seat and Sarah is the confused, hurting passenger, occupying the passenger seat (right side) as Chuck did. Chuck tells Sarah to trust him, not because he wants something from her, but because he will protect her and make sure she is never alone, if that is what she chooses. In both instances the dominant individual is imploring the other to trust them, but each did so for a different reason. Sarah was attempting to manipulate Chuck so she could "handle the asset." She did want to protect Chuck, but not because Chuck really means anything to her emotionally. He is a mark. Sarah also holds all the cards in the situation. Chuck cannot run, he cannot protect his family and he cannot protect himself. When Chuck tells Sarah to trust him, he wants nothing from her (well, not true I think, he desperately wants his wife to stay with him) and is willing to let her leave him, he just wants Sarah to accept the fact he will do anything to protect her, including letting her go, if that is her choice. Sarah will never have to be alone, the source of so many of her problems, again. She can just pick up the phone and call him just to talk. Sarah, who by her own admission, is horrible at relationships, particularly when it comes to communicating her emotions to Chuck in a clear and direct manner, once again communicates her answer in a sideways manner. Instead of telling Chuck she trusts him, Sarah, using her "polite, Chuck, you better do what I say" tone of voice, tells him to "tell her their story." Chuck ever so slightly smiles and proceeds to tell her their story. Sarah laughs, cries and wells up with emotion as Chuck works through their history. She even playfully hits him, smiling when she does so. The request to hear their story, I believe, is Sarah's way of telling Chuck she trusts him. Many of Sarah's emotional walls have come down. She is not Sarah Super Spy. Chuck, who is probably still reeling emotionally himself, brings up Morgan's silly idea of the one kiss restoring Sarah's memories. As Chuck tries to laugh it off, Sarah insists Chuck kiss her. The kiss is NOT a sexually passionate kiss. Rather is emotional and affectionate. Sarah does not resist at all and we see Chuck still wears his wedding band (a symbol of the fact the two are still married, even if Sarah does not wear her wedding band) as he gently caresses Sarah's face while they kiss. As the camera pulls back and the screen fades to black, we see the two still kissing while Chuck has his arm around Sarah. 11) Sarah's memories are not the real issue after time has passed. Sarah's fear and self-loathing are the real issues. It took Chuck 4 emotional years with lots of ups and downs, not to win Sarah's heart, but for Sarah to allow herself to connect with Chuck the way in which wife should connect with her husband. In Chuck vs. the Suitcase, when Sarah finally unpacks, she apologizes to Chuck saying a normal girl would not have taken so long. This is just one example of how Chuck helped Sarah to adjust and move towards being normal and assume more of a complete and shared merging of the two into a happy partnership. Sarah fights change, particularly when it threatens her defenses she has built up to combat her feelings of abandonment, loneliness and general distrust of others, particularly men. Sarah tells Chuck more than once she knows he loves her, that the facts he has told her are true. Standing on the stairs in Castle as she is about to flee, Sarah reveals the real issue - she is fearful she cannot become the woman Chuck loves a second time. Sarah seems to intuitively know their love story is a difficult one that required Chuck to mature and gain in confidence while Sarah had to deal with her miriad of trust issues and lower her defenses so she can bond with Chuck and share her love for Chuck with him. It was so hard for Sarah to accomplish this the first time. She is now fearful she won't be able to change again and she will lose Chuck in the process. So, in typical Sarah fashion, she pushes Chuck away and runs. Her choices at the beach indicate their relationship will survive. Sarah chose to go where Chuck would find her. She did not know why, but she knew the spot on the beach was important. Sarah knows Chuck loves her and his final plea to trust him is yet another example for her that this love is unconditional. With her internal defensive walls already crumbling, Sarah pushes them over herself when she tells Chuck to tell her their story. Openly displaying her emotions during the telling, Sarah makes herself vulnerable to Chuck, trusting he will not abuse his position of power and will make good on his promise to protect Sarah. Sarah once again submits to Chuck in the relationship and allows Chuck to become her emotional protector. For Sarah the stakes could not be higher. She is trusting Chuck to not abandon or betray her like all the other men who were important in her life. Sarah is trusting herself that she will be able to bond with Chuck a second time and be worthy of his unconditional love. Sarah's choices on the beach, her two demands she makes of Chuck, to tell her their story and then to kiss her, indicate Sarah has decided to move forward and take the risk to continue their love story. Hope this longwinded passage makes sense and indicates some support for the idea Sarah and Chuck will be fine, even if Sarah can never regain her memories.